A container is filled with plastic waste from Australia, in Port Klang, Malaysia, Tuesday, May 28, 2019. Canadians say they care about the environmental damage caused by single-use plastic packaging, but not enough to open up their wallets and pay for costlier alternatives, a new study suggests. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Vincent Thian

A new study suggests Canadians care about the environmental impact of single-use plastic food packaging, but are averse to paying a premium for alternatives.

A survey by researchers from Dalhousie University shows 87.2 per cent of respondents consider the environmental impact of single-use plastic food packaging important.

Nearly 94 per cent of respondents felt personally motivated to reduce the amount of plastic that they use because of the environmental impact.

However, nearly 90 per cent of respondents believed plastic packaging should be switched to green alternatives — but for no additional costs.

Only about 38 per cent of respondents were willing to pay more for items with biodegradable packaging and about 83 per cent said they would not be willing to pay more than a 2.5 per cent premium for green alternatives.

The survey sampled 1,014 Canadians online between May 13 and 18.

According to the polling industry’s generally accepted standards, online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.